1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to engine leak testing and more specifically, toward a method for developing a program for engine leak testing that will subsequently be used on a manufacturing assembly line.
2. Description of Related Art
During the manufacture of engines, it is desirable to test the assembled engine to determine if any of the various oil seals are leaking. Due to the construction of modern engines, it has proven difficult to develop engine leak testing methods that can be employed quickly, as is required for manufacturing efficiency. Furthermore, the testing methods are usually specific to individual engine types and thus new testing programs must be developed every time a new engine design is produced.
Development of these testing programs can be very labor intensive and requires a large amount of time. For example, when developing the testing programs, one of the set parameters, the leak rate, may range from 100 cc/min to 5000 cc/min, in increments of 25 cc/min. This results in about 200 different trials that must be run in order to properly develop a new program.
One known testing method that has been employed in the past involves having a user manually adjust and confirm the leak rate for each incremental change. Running the trials at different leak rates requires that the user change orifices to adjust the set leak rate. And, as each trial is typically run 3 to 5 times, development of a single program can require several hundred iterations. Furthermore, a wait time of typically two minutes is used between trials to ensure that any fluid pressure in the engine from the previous trial has dissipated. Accordingly, the known testing method is not an effective technique for developing a program for detecting engine oil leaks.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a method of efficiently developing testing programs for an engine.